1. Field of the Invention
The invention is a device for installation on a conventional center-pivot irrigation system commonly utilized in agriculture which eliminates ruts caused by the movement of the wheels in the drive mechanism of the irrigation system on wet soil by re-directing the flow of water from the front of the drive mechanism of the irrigation system to the rear of the system, thus enabling the wheels of the drive mechanism to travel of dry soil instead of freshly irrigated soil in the field. The invention consists of water pipe, quick connect attachments, a reciprocating sprinkler head, support struts and connecting ports for the drop lines supplied by the center-pivot irrigation system nearest the drive mechanism of the irrigation system.
2. Description of Prior Art
Numerous patents currently exist in the known art dealing with center-pivot irrigation systems used for agricultural purposes. However, none of them appear to address the problem encountered by use of the large scale devices which have either a motor driven or a water driven mechanism where the wheel of the drive mechanism are caused to travel over freshly irrigated soil, causing the weight of the irrigation system to leave ruts in the soil which impede future harvests or future irrigation. This device reduces the problem described above by redirecting the water from the front of the irrigation system and placing a controlled amount at the rear of the movement of the irrigation system, and can be retrofitted to nearly all existing center-pivot irrigation devices with little or no modification.
In a search of prior art, the following patents are disclosed and incorporated by reference into this utility patent application. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,749 to Bowen, a center-pivot irrigation system is disclosed which include a central water pipe, a center-pivot and wheels which transport the water pipe in a circular pattern around the center pivot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,681 to Meis discloses a center-pivot irrigation device suited for irrigating non-circular fields. U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,748 to Emrich discloses a center-pivot irrigation system that is self-driven. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,240,582 to Anderson and 4,161,292 to Holloway, center-pivot irrigation systems suited for watering corners are disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,569 to Linder discloses a center-pivot irrigation system and device which has adjustable ground contact elements for traveling in a precise circular pattern.
U.S. Pat. No.4,369,922 to Vikre discloses a sprinkler head for mounting on a center-pivot irrigation system. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,191,331 to Bivens and 4,728,040 to Healy, stream reversing directors and sprinkler deflectors are disclosed for attachment to sprinkler systems. A rotary irrigation spray device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,760 to Koresh. A controlled irrigation attachment made from a plastic bottle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,477 to Hengesbach.